Life is not a picnic for Idris Elba and Riaad Moosa in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.Life is not a picnic for Idris Elba and Riaad Moosa in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 139 minutes
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Terry Pheto, Riaad Moosa
KRS release

Set in South Africa in the 1940s, this film brings us face to face with Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba), who becomes a lawyer tasked with defending black people in a society that is governed by whites and made to favour white people.

He eventually finds himself frequenting the community of the African National Congress who is in constant protest against the apartheid system.

Mandela is married to Evelyn (Terry Pheeto) but his increasing involvement in politics does not help his family life nor do his affairs with other women. This leads to Evelyn leaving him along with their children. After some time, he meets Winnie Madikizela (Naomie Harris), who works as a court social worker, and ends up marrying her.

Mandela’s life becomes hectic when the ANC has to go into hiding. The government is wary of the organisation and starts arresting its most important people: Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada (Riaad Moosa), Govan Mbeki (Fana Mokoena) and also Walter Sisulu (Tony Kgoroge). The government convicts them all to prison on Robben Island and, after 18 years, they are transferred to Pollsmoor Prison.

Over time, Nelson’s perception for the future of South Africa changes and takes on more significance while Winnie’s views become more and more hardcore.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is based on the 1995 book of the same name written by Mandela himself. Under Justin Chadwick’s direction and Elba’s elegant screen presence, the film lives up to its own promise – that of being the best way to get to know why this man became such an icon not only for South Africa but also for the whole world.

The audience gets to really know who Mandela was and what made him tick

The movie was faced with the very difficult task of bringing to the screen quite recent events and portraying such a legendary man, who was also a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Yet Chadwick builds the story frame by frame and the audience gets to really know who Mandela was and what made him tick.

Like every biopic, the success of The Long Walk to Freedom is based on the main character’s strength, which is here portrayed by Elba. Thankfully enough, the actor provides the film with its dramatic lynchpin and he does it all with the grace that we have come to associate with Mandela himself. Elba has, in fact, already been nominated for a Golden Globe for this role.

The secondary characters are also interesting, such as Mandela’s second wife, Winnie. As brought to the screen by Harris, she is a woman who undergoes various changes through her life. When she meets her husband after 27 years’ imprisonment, she finds him a changed man and one can interpret her facial expressions in a myriad of ways.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom serves well as both a biopic and as a testament and reflection on the great man and his achievements. It also takes a look at South Africa with its numerous contradictions and strange and fascinating beauty.

Mandela gave his all and won, but everything came at a cost: his personal life and the people close to him suffered the most. Overall, those who consider Mandela an icon should enjoy this film, and all those who like biopics will find plenty of inspiration.

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